A New Life
by c.roy
Summary: Two years after the movie ended. What happens when Catherine Stark takes a teaching position at UCLA?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I have not posted on here in years. I lost all of my creativity juices long ago and have written very little over the last five years. I recently saw this movie for the first time and I absolutely loved it. The ending left me wanting more, so this is how I channeled that. I do not own Bloomington, the characters, etc. If I did, Allison McAtee would be sitting beside me on a tropical island wearing nothing. I hope you enjoy! I appreciate reviews of any kind! Thank you!**

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I remember watching her out my window as she did an interview before she left Bloomington, I couldn't stop but think that I had made a huge mistake. Part of me felt as though I was just letting her walk away. It is funny for me to think back about how scared she was our first time, but now I am the one who is scared. I had never felt as vulnerable with anyone else and I was terrified.

That was close to two years ago and I still think about Jackie often. I just accepted a teaching position at UCLA and couldn't be happier to get out of the lull I had been stuck in recently. Jackie had risen to instant stardom once Neptune 26 came out and it was crazy to think about our time together and how quick it all went by.

I can't exactly say that I have gotten over her either. I remember the last time we were together she asked me if I hated her, I almost broken down right then, but I was able to hold myself together until she left. I never intended to fall in love with her, she was different though. She was so different from all of the others. I wish I could tell her that now.

Being back in California was always one of my dreams, after selling my house in Indiana, I bought a house in Brentwood, which was close enough to school but far enough away for privacy at the same time. The best thing about the move was that none of the ridiculous rumors followed me. I was able to really start all over again. I arrived in California in early July in hopes that I would get the house ready before the school year. I figured it would keep me occupied, but it didn't take as long as I expected and I was moved in within the first two weeks, with plenty of time on my hands for the rest of the summer. Ethan loved the new yard, he enjoyed spending his days outside while I read on the porch.

One day during my second week of living in Brentwood I met some of my neighbors, a very friendly couple with two young children. The husband, Daniel, was a producer in Hollywood and the wife, Abigail, was an elementary school teacher. The couple invited me over to a dinner they were having later in the week, I gladly accepted in hopes that I would continue to meet more people. For the last two years I had stayed to myself, I was scared to let anyone in. I immersed myself into research work and ignored everything else around me. I knew that I could not continue my life of solidarity.

Saturday night came quicker than I expected and I found myself wandering over to the Tripp's with a bottle of red wine. I was excited to meet new people and get to know my new neighbor's a bit more.

"Catherine, so good to see you again!" Abigail greeted.

"Abigail, thank you for inviting me. This is for you and Daniel. It is one of my favorites."

"You shouldn't have, thank you. Remember Daniel's friend from work, Samuel, who I told you about earlier in the week?"

Obviously one of their first questions when we met was if I was married, I think one of the reasons they invited me tonight was to set me up with one of their friends. It was a kind gesture, nonetheless. "Yes, I do remember you telling me about him."

"Great! I was just telling him about you, come this way." She ushered me towards a very handsome man in his early 30s. He was extremely attractive and I smiled at him politely. I kept reminding myself that I needed to meet people and one date would not hurt me. One date means I am moving in the right direction and that is exactly what I needed. "Samuel, this is Catherine. She just moved in next door, she is a professor at UCLA. Catherine, this is Samuel, he works with Daniel."

She moved me closer to him, she looked at us both and smiled before walking away.

"I'm sorry about that." I apologized.

"No, don't be sorry. Abigail is sweet like that. She has a huge heart." Samuel smiled and I found myself smiling as well. "Do you want something to drink, I was just about to grab another beer."

"Sure. I will have a glass of red wine."

We walked over towards the bar that was set up and he ordered our drinks.

"What brings you to Brentwood?"

"I really have not been here very long, as Abigail mentioned. I worked at a small college in Bloomington, Indiana for as long as I can remember. I took some time off from that and traveled over the last two years, mostly backpacking around Europe. I got the opportunity to teach for UCLA's master program in Psychology and I could not turn it down, so here I am. What about you? What brings you here?"

"I was born and raised in Los Angeles, it is really all I know. My father was a producer and I followed in his footsteps. Daniel and I have worked together on several projects and have become great friends along the way. Were you originally from Bloomington?"

"Yes, I grew up there. I went to Stanford for my undergrad though, so California is not a completely new experience. I fell in love with it many years ago and just never had the opportunity to make a life for myself here."

"Brentwood is a gorgeous area, you could not have picked a better location. I always give Daniel a hard time for moving out here once he started a family with Abigail. We had houses next to each other in Hollywood, but he did not want his children being raised in that environment."

"I really love it so far. It is nice to be so close to the city but live outside of it enough to have a yard. My dog is smitten with his new space. I have not been to Hollywood in years."

"Perhaps we could change that?" I took that as my cue that he wanted to ask me out. I went with it, for the first time in two years I went along with the notion of someone asking me out. "Maybe Monday night, if you are free?"

"That sounds wonderful, yes, I am free on Monday." I smiled before taking a sip of my wine.

"Great. It is a date."

We talked a little while longer before one of his friends needed him. I made conversation with a few other people before calling it a night. It was nice to get out of the house. Ethan was waiting at the door for me when I got home, like he always was.

"Good evening, Mr. Ethan. And how was your night?" I laughed as I talked to him, already knowing he was not going to give me a response. He followed me as I walked upstairs to my master bedroom. At night I would think about Jackie the most, probably because I missed having her next to me. I miss watching her sleep, all curled up, next to me. I only have myself to blame, I let her leave and I did not even try to stop her. I just wish I told her how I feel. Even Ethan misses having her around, whenever she is on TV he sits straight up and his tail starts wagging, it is quite adorable.

For the next two days I started moving things into my office at school, making it my own. I found old books that I forgotten I had, bringing me back to different research that I had done. I found a book that Jackie had given me for Christmas. Inside she had written a short message:

_Catherine,_

_You amaze me every single day. Thank you for everything. I finally found a book that you might enjoy. Merry Christmas! _

_Love,  
Jackie_

It was nothing over the top, it was short and sweet. I did love that book too, she knew me too well. I finished putting things away and headed home when Samuel called me.

"Hello?"

"Catherine, its Samuel."

"Hi, how are you?"

"Great, you?"

"Good, just on my way home."

"I made us reservations for tonight at STK. I have a car picking you up at 8:30. I am at work still and I won't get out until a little bit later than normal. Is that okay?"

"That's fine, thank you. I will see you tonight then." I smiled. I was really looking forward to dinner with Samuel tonight.

When I got home I got ready for the night and when there was a knock on the door, I was just finishing up. I figured it was probably the driver he sent for me. I was not sure if he was trying to show off or simply was being kind. One of the biggest turnoffs to me has always been when someone tries to show off in an attempt to woo me. I was leaning towards it being a kind gesture because he was working late. When I opened the door I was greeted by a young driver.

"Hello Ms. Stark, I am Westley. I will be your driver this evening. Mr. Williams has instructed me to take you to STK where he will meet you. He apologizes for not being able to pick you up himself."

"Well thank you, Westley. I just need to grab my purse and shoes and I will be right out."

"As you wish, I will be by the car."

I grabbed the last few things I needed and before walking out the door I took a deep breath. I had not been on a date in years. I wondered if I still had it in me to date or if I had any idea of what is expected. Does he think I am going to sleep with him on the first date? I do not sleep with anyone on the first date. Well, only with Jackie, but that was much different. If he buys me dinner do I have to sleep with him as a thank you? Good lord, I am an adult. I can do whatever I want to do. I will not let him pressure me into anything I do not want to do. Okay, Catherine, relax. It is going to be fine. You hit it off really well with him the other night. Tonight will be fine. My mind was racing with all of these different thoughts and I needed to calm down and just enjoy the evening.

The ride through Beverly Hills to West Hollywood was busy, just as I had expected. We managed to arrive right on time though and Samuel was waiting outside of the door.

"Catherine! So good to see you again." He said as he helped me out of the car. He gave me a quick hug and small peck on the cheek.

"It is good to see you as well."

"Our table is already." He said as he placed a hand on my lower back and showed me the way in. We were sat right away at a private table in the back. "How was your day?"

"It was good. I started to set up my office at UCLA today. I have a lot of things to go through before it is quite how I want it set up. How about you?"

"Long. Daniel and I are in the beginning stages of a new movie we are hoping to produce. It is a lot of time spent on the phone at this stage. I am sorry that I could not be there to pick you up, I have been waiting to speak with a director for a week now and the first time I could get him on the phone was the same time I had to leave to pick you up."

"It's fine. No need to apologize. Thank you though."

"May I ask what the new movie is about?"

"Of course, it is based on a true story of a family from Baltimore and how they were able to get off the streets and they now live in one of the nicest suburbs of Baltimore. It is a feel good story."

"What gave you the idea of the story?"

"I met the son of the family at a charity event in New York two years ago. He was there representing the charity the family formed that is an affiliate of the charity putting on the event. His story amazed me and ever since I have been trying to put together a movie based on their story."

"Wow, that's..." I was cut off by a voice behind me.

"Samuel!"

"Jackie! How are you, dear?"

"Good, very good. I just got back from shooting in England. It was..."

For a moment I thought I was dreaming. I hoped that I was dreaming. I turned around and there she stood, right behind me. I could not move. I could not think. I could not do anything but sit and stare at her. I was finally torn away from reverie when Samuel stood up and gave her a hug. Her face showed the same shock as mine when our eyes met and she stopped mid-sentence just as I had before when I heard her voice.

We both stared at each other, still in shock that we were standing in front of one another. I did not know what to say and the silence was becoming increasingly awkward. Samuel finally broke the ice and introduced us, even though neither of us needed any introduction.

"Catherine, this is Jacqueline. I worked with her last year on a film."


	2. Chapter 2

After Samuel introduced Jackie to me I wasn't sure what to say or do. Jackie looked just as equally shocked.

"Hi Catherine, very nice to meet you." She finally broke the silence after what felt like hours. The way she said my name put my stomach in knots.

"Good to meet you too, Jacqueline."

"So, you were saying, you just got back from England?" Samuel made an attempt to further the previous conversation.

"Yes, the shoot kept getting extended. One of the other actors had a hard time getting to the set on time. I enjoy London though; Chris lived there for a few years, so we got to see a lot of his friends."

"You and Chris are still together? That's awesome, I better be invited to the wedding."

"Whoa now! We are not in any hurry." I had read rumors online that she was dating an actor who she had worked with last year. I had always hoped they were just rumors though. "Samuel, how did you and Catherine meet?"

"Daniel and Abigail set us up. She just moved into the house next to them. I will let her introduce herself."

"I just got a teaching position at UCLA for their masters program in Psychology. I moved out here from Bloomington, Indiana. I'm jealous you just got back from London, it is one of my favorite cities."

"Oh wow! Congratulations on your new job. I should get back to my friends. It was very nice to meet you, Catherine. Good to see you Samuel. I'm sure I will see you again."

"Nice meeting you as well." I said softly as she turned around to go back to her table. I sat back down slowly trying to ease myself back into reality.

"Catherine, are you okay?" Samuel asked as we started looking over the menu.

"Yes, I am good. What do you recommend?"

"The filet is always amazing. It may sound cheesy, but the truffle fries are to die for."

"That sounds really good."

"I'm Patrick, I'll be your server this evening. Ms. Kirk has already requested to buy your first round of drinks. What can I start you off with?"

Of course she did. "That was very sweet of her. I'll have the Strawberry Cobbler."

"I will have the Green Intensity." Samuel ordered his drink and turned back towards me. "Jackie is sweet like that. She's a great kid, never forgot her manners when she made it big. So, Catherine… Tell me more about yourself, any brothers or sisters?"

"Unfortunately no, I was an only child. My parents passed away when I was a teenager. I had an aunt who raised me afterwards, but she passed away a few years ago."

"I am so sorry."

"It's okay. You didn't know. It was a long time ago, I am a stronger person because of it. How about you?"

"I have three sisters, they all live here in LA and they all work in the industry. As I mentioned the other night, my father was a producer, so we all grew up around movies and TV. Did you ever want siblings?"

"Not until after my parents died. I enjoyed growing up as an only child, but it was lonely once they were gone."

Patrick came back with our drinks and took our food order. I was trying to enjoy Samuel's company but my mind kept going back to the young blond sitting somewhere behind me. My mind was swirling with everything from the past two years.

"Are you sure you are okay? You look distant all of a sudden."

"I'm fine, don't worry. Just enjoying tonight, it has been very lovely. I am having a really good time."

"Good, I'm glad. You just seem quiet."

"I apologize. I was setting my office up today, that is where I was when you called earlier."

"Oh yeah, when do you start teaching?"

"The first week in September classes begin. I have been starting to create my lesson plans and go through the curriculum a bit more. I have had quite a few students already start to email me for the syllabus for the course. It does not look good when the students are more prepared than me."

"You are going to hate me, but I researched some of your papers that you have had published."

"Oh god, no you didn't?" I said as my face turned red.

"They were great! I loved the one on the reversal of self-denial. You seem very passionate about the topic, it showed through your writing."

"Thank you." I relaxed a bit at the compliment. "It is one of my favorites, I spent quite a bit of time on that paper."

"I enjoyed reading it."

"I should be honest with you then, I looked up a few of the movies you have produced. I had actually seen a few of them already. I am not a huge movie buff, I would rather read, but there are some good movies that you have done."

"I would like to think so, thank you. Do you miss Bloomington?"

"No, my time there was over before I left. I needed a fresh start more than anything. I am really looking forward to what is to come." An hour ago this would be true.

"Me too." He smiled widely.

We enjoyed the remainder of our dinner, he was right about the food. It was incredible. As we finished our final drinks, he paid the bill and we got up to leave.

This is when he is supposed to ask if I wanted to go back to his place for a drink. I was actually dreading the moment, even though the date was lovely. I wanted to get home and freak out about seeing Jackie. I wanted to be alone more than anything so my mind could slow down.

"I have had a great time this evening, Catherine."

"As have I, Samuel."

"I would like to see you again."

"That can be arranged." I did have a good time and I really did enjoy his company. I should not let the fact that I saw Jackie ruin what could be.

"I have a premiere on Thursday if you would like to join me."

"Really?"

"I would like you to be there with me."

"Of course. I look forward to it."

"Good. I do too. I would love nothing more than to ask you back to my place this evening."

"But…" I continued his sentence.

"I have a conference call at five o'clock in the morning, I have to be at the office by 4:30 so I can prepare. We are proposing a budget for a new movie and the people we are proposing the budget to are in New York."

"Ahh... That's okay. We have Thursday night." I smiled, mostly because I was relieved that I would be going home.

He drove me back home and walked me to my door. I was kind of shocked at how much of a gentleman he was. Chivalry may not be dead after all.

"I look forward to seeing you on Thursday, Catherine. I had a great time tonight."

"Me too, thank you for dinner."

"Thank you for joining me." He said before leaning in to kiss me goodnight. It was a simple kiss that let me know he really wanted more, but did not want to rush things.

"Good night." He said before turning back towards his car. I opened my door and was promptly greeted by Ethan.

"Hey buddy. I had a great night, thank you for asking. I ran into an old pal of yours, do you remember Jackie?" At the sound of her name he perked up and got excited. "Yeah, I remember her too."

I walked to the kitchen and poured myself a glass a wine. After I took my first sip a tear rolled down my cheek and I had to sit down as I became overwhelmed with all of the emotions from the last two years. I moved to the living room and put the TV on as I drifted to sleep. It was almost one in the morning when the doorbell rang, I thought I was dreaming. It took me a few moments to get up and walk towards the door and when I finally looked out the window I saw a small form retreating back to the driveway. I opened the door and started walking towards the form.

"Jackie, is that you?" She turned towards me and my thoughts were confirmed. "What… How do you know where I live?"

"I shouldn't have come here. I'm sorry, I saw the light on and I thought it would be a good idea to ring the bell, but it wasn't and I'm sorry. I'm leaving."

"Jackie, stop… What are you doing here?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer – I don't own any of the original Bloomington characters. I just have fun writing about them. **

"I wanted to see you."

"At one in the morning?" I asked, trying to be upset with her.

"What are you doing here?" She replied with a question.

"You are asking me that question as you stand outside my house at one in the morning."

"I mean in LA."

"How do you even know where I live?"

"Samuel said that you were neighbors with Daniel."

"So you thought it was a good idea to show up at my house at one in the morning…"

"Catherine…" She started before pausing for a moment. I cut her off before she could continue.

"Come inside, it is late and the last thing we need is for someone to take pictures of you out here." We both laughed lightly as we thought back to the last time that happened.

We walked back inside and Ethan immediately ran up to her. My heart started beating faster as I watched the interaction between the two. Her face had the smile on it that I had been missing for the past two years and all of a sudden I felt complete again, even if it was just for that moment. She looked at me as she pet the top of his head. I cannot begin to explain how big the smile on my face was in that moment.

As soon as I let myself enjoy it, the moment was over and we were both left standing there inside my house. Ethan continued to look at Jackie with his tail wagging at full speed.

"I…" She paused again. I could tell she had not fully thought through why she was here. "I needed to see you. My entire body has been on edge since I saw you earlier tonight and I needed to see you again."

"Jackie…"

"You never called." I was surprised by the statement.

"Neither did you."

"I miss you, Catherine."

"Why are you here, Jackie?"

"I told you, I needed to see you after earlier. This is my world, this is where I live and you just show up out of nowhere on a date with one of my bosses. I never thought I would see you again." She sounded upset.

"Abigail and Daniel set us up. It was a good opportunity to meet someone."

"So you won't be seeing him again?"

"I really do not see how that is any of your business." She looked down after my snark remark. "Do you want something to drink?" I asked as I made my way to the kitchen on a mission to find the first bottle of wine.

"Water would be nice."

"The cups are up there, there is a pitcher in the refrigerator." I rested my hands on the counter and took a deep breath. I felt her close behind me and lost all feeling in my limbs when I felt her hands on my hips and her head rested on my back.

"Catherine…" She whispered.

I stood motionless.

"Why did you leave, Jackie?" I finally asked.

"Huh?" I felt her lift her head off of my back and I was able to breathe again.

"That last night, why did you leave?"

"If I didn't leave, I would have never left… I didn't want to."

"We…" She cut me off before I could even formulate a sentence.

"Don't say that, we both know it is not true." She knew me too well. I took this as an opportunity to turn around and face her. She put a hand up to my face and wiped away a tear that had formed. She took the glass of wine out of my hand. "You don't really need that."

"You were different, you know."

"Huh?"

"You asked me one day if you were different from the others and I wasn't ready to admit that you were." I was hoping that she wouldn't inquire further.

"What have you done the last two years? I don't think I have ever really gotten over the guilt that I felt for being the reason you lost your position." She looked down and I could see the sadness painted across her face.

"Whoa, do not think for a minute that was your fault." My eyes widened to emphasize the fact that it was in no way her fault for my termination. "I knew what I was doing, I knew the consequences… I knew that…" I stopped to think if I really wanted to say what was about to come out of my mouth. "I knew that you were worth it."

She looked back up at me with a weak smile. "You didn't seem to think that I was worth the distance though."

"Jackie…" I sighed as the dejection was written across my face. "I travelled. I went to Spain and Thailand, France, Italy, Greece, Germany, England, China, Japan… I went all over. I met some incredible people along the way, who taught me lessons that I would have never learned." I answered her previous question in hopes that she would forget about the present question. "What about you?"

"You were always good at changing the subject, Dr. Stark." She smiled and accepted that I did not want to answer the question at that moment. "I have been working… I don't know if you saw the Neptune movie or not, but it did really well. I never really thought I would get back into acting, but this is where I belong. This is my passion."

"And Chris?" I had wanted to ask since she mentioned it at dinner earlier. I could not tell if I was jealous or actually curious.

"Is that really any of your business?" She laughed. "He's just a friend. It looks good in the press if we are dating. We are good friends, but that's it. I haven't really had the time to date anyone since I have been out here."

"Since when do you care what people think?" I was surprised at her answer about Chris. That was not the Jacqueline Kirk that I knew. I think she was stunned by the question because she backed away and sat down at the table.

"The studio thought it would be a good idea, especially once the movie gets released next week."

"Next week?"

"Yes, next week. We have the LA premiere this Thursday and then next Wednesday we are in New York and then London the following week."

The premiere that Samuel had invited me to was for the movie he had produced with Jackie in it. Fantastic. How do I tell her that I am going to be there with her boss? I don't actually owe her an explanation, but at the same time, she holds my heart. Even if she does not know it, she still holds my heart. "Oh." Was all I could say.

"For some reason the way you said that makes me think that you may have already known about the premiere on Wednesday…"

"Samuel asked me if I wanted to go with him…"

"So you will be seeing him again."

"Jackie…"

"Catherine, it's fine. You and I were two years ago. I want you to be happy."

I stopped for a moment as I saw the hurt on her face. "I want the same for you, Jackie. You have no idea." She didn't say anything in return as we stood there in the darkness of the kitchen. "You know, he has never attached to anyone the way he does to you." I spoke softly referring to Ethan who was lying at Jackie's feet.

"I definitely missed him. I remember sitting on the couch with him when you were helping me write my essay. He has always had a calming effect over me."

"He does that for me too. Just so you know, I didn't know it was your premiere that he invited me to."

"It's okay. Like I said, I want you to be happy." It stayed quiet for a few moments before I broke the silence. "What made you come out here to teach?"

"I did my undergrad out here and I really enjoy California. I applied for the position over a year ago, but it took a little while for it all to work out. It's doesn't hurt that they have one of the best Psych programs in the country." Or that you were out here. I kept that last part to myself because I really wanted to try and see if I could do this without clinging to her the first moment she appeared, each moment she stood in front of me told me that this would be harder than I ever imagined.

"I'm glad you moved away from Bloomington. You are so much more than a small town professor, you'll have so many more opportunities out here for your research and writing."

"Small town professor?"

"You are insanely intelligent, Catherine. I don't think you give yourself enough credit sometimes. You are meant to be at a school like UCLA." I looked down at my watch and realized how late it was getting. "I should go though. It's getting really late."

"Why don't you stay? I'll set up the guest room for you."

"Thank you, but I'll just drive home."

"Jackie, stay. It's late."

"Okay…" I could see her take a deep breath before agreeing to my request.

We walked upstairs and I grabbed her shorts and tee shirt to sleep in. I set her up in the guest room and we said good night. "Here are these, so you don't have to sleep in your clothes. If you need anything else, just let me know."

"Thank you, Catherine."

"Good night, Jackie."

"Night."

I turned to leave for my room and Ethan jumped up on Jackie's bed. "Come on Ethan…" He didn't move.

"It's okay if he stays in here. We can catch up."

"Are you sure?"

She just nodded and I turned to leave. I sat down on the edge of my bed and put my head in my hands. I couldn't believe that she was right down the hall from me, in my house… How did we get to this point? Why did we let things fall apart in the end? Why didn't either of us try to stop each other from creating this mess? I got into bed and laid there, staring at the ceiling. I was not going to be able to sleep tonight. After two years all it took was seeing her for all of the emotions I tried to push aside to come flooding back.

By six I was downstairs making myself coffee. I heard Ethan coming downstairs followed by soft footsteps. I think Jackie was surprised to see me up because she looked like she had planned to skip out without saying goodbye.

"Oh – good morning." She said softly.

"Morning. You are up early."

"I could say the same to you…"

"I couldn't sleep."

"Ha, me neither."

"Did Ethan keep you warm?" My attempt at small talk was disappointing.

"Yes, he did."

"Good… Are you busy today?"

"Yes… Interviews and press for the movie. You?"

"Setting up my office and some teaching stuff." The silence between us was deafening.

"Catherine…"

"Yeah?"

"Can we try to be friends?"

I was surprised at the question and to be perfectly honest, I was not sure how to answer her. I was still debating on whether or not I should kiss her. The idea of a friendship with Jackie was scary because I knew that more time around her would make every thing so much harder. When had either of us ever been able to be "friends?" Even after we ended things we still found our way into my bed one last time before she left.

"Sure." I spoke softly and the words confused me as they came out of my mouth. "I'd like that."

"Good. I'm going to get going, but I'll see you Thursday." She walked over towards me and we both stood there awkwardly before she wrapped me in a gentle hug. The small action surprised me.

"Yeah, Thursday…" I said breathlessly.

**A/N – I apologize that this has taken so long. Life has been hectic and writer's block has found it's way into my brain. I had started the chapter last summer but never got around to finishing it. If there is anyone that is still reading this, thank you. I hope you enjoy. Feedback is always appreciated. **


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